Metropolitan Opera Reaches Contract Agreements with Local 802, AGMA

Extends Contract Deadline for Negotiations with Local 1 of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Representing Stagehands

The Metropolitan Opera announced early Monday morning that it has reached tentative contract agreements with two of its largest labor unions, Local 802 and AGMA — the unions representing its orchestra and chorus, singers and stage managers, respectively — clearing a significant hurdle in labor negotiations that had imperiled the 2014-15 season.

In addition to the deals brokered with AGMA and Local 802, the company announced that it had extended the contract deadline through midnight on August 19 for members of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — the union representing the company's stagehands, carpenters and electricians — as well as the other remaining unions with which the Met is negotiating new contracts.

The new agreements with the company's musical unions were reached with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which was brought in by the Met, AGMA and Local 802 to lead negotiations. The terms of the new agreements were not made public, but the new contracts with the Met's musical unions — which are still subject to ratification by the members — reportedly cover a period of four years. Earlier this month, the Met, AGMA and Local 802 announced that they had engaged a federal mediator to lead the negotiations between the three parties, and that they had consented to allow an independent financial analyst to conduct a confidential study of the company's finances in an effort to help the negotiating parties reach new contracts.

“These were difficult and highly complex negotiations, and I wish to commend the parties for their resolve in addressing multiple and complex issues,” said Allison Beck, the deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, in a statement. “We are grateful for their commitment to the collective bargaining process and grateful most of all that the Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s premier cultural institutions, will continue providing outstanding operas for all to enjoy.”

The Met's season is slated to open on September 22, with a new production of Nozze di Figaro directed by Richard Eyre and conducted by the company's music director, James Levine.